RIDIN' FOR THE BRAND



The sun had set and the remaining light was fast fading into darkness.  I stood on the northeast corner of
Old Fort Parker trying to imagine what it must have been like to live in Texas in the 1830’s.  We were at
this historic place to participate in a cowboy match and to conduct cowboy church.  This affair was
orchestrated to raise funds for the support and continued maintenance of this old fort.  Standing in the
lengthening shadows does something with the imagination.  Bushes become stalking Indians and
common night time noises become the sounds of battle as imaginations become over-active.
Historic Fort Parker is located between the present towns of Mexia and Groesbeck in central Texas.  This
Old Fort Parker is a reconstructed fort that pays tribute to the Parker family and other pioneers who paid a
high price to settle in early Texas. The Parkers and other members of their church came to Texas from
Crawford County, Illinois in 1833. In 1832, Daniel Parker, a staunch theologian, gained permission to
settle in Texas. After organizing those who wanted to go to Texas with him into the Predestinarian Baptist
Church, they all left Illinois in July of 1833 in ox-drawn wagons. In December 1833 Elder John Parker and
three of his sons began to clear land and construct "Parker's Fort" near the headwaters of the Navasota
River.  The original fort was completed in March of 1834. It consisted of 12 foot high log walls and
enclosed four acres. Block-houses were placed on two corners for lookouts, and six cabins were
attached to the inside walls. The fort had two entrances, a large double gate facing south, and a small
gate for easy access to the spring. Most of the residents of the fort were part of the extended family of
John and Sarah Parker.
At this point the story of Fort Parker’s history becomes somewhat fuzzy leaving it to the imagination to
determine what really happened.  We know that on May 19, 1836 there was a fight between the
inhabitants of the fort and the native Indians of the area.  The fight is historically recorded as the Fort
Parker “massacre.”
One of the stories records simply that the Comanche Indians attacked the fort where 5 of the fort’s
inhabitants were killed, 5 were captured, and the 21 survivors made their way to where Palestine, Texas
is today.  Another story agrees on the date but records that a large party of Indians, including Comanche,
Kiowa, Caddo, and Wichita, attacked the fort. This story records that around mid-morning, riders
appeared under a white flag, and Benjamin Parker went out to talk to them. He was killed, and before the
fort's gates could be closed, the raiders rushed inside.  A third story records that a group of hungry
Indians approached the fort begging for food and were fired upon by the inhabitants inside the fort.  The
Indians responded to this dastardly deed by attacking the fort, killing 5 and capturing 5 others.  This story
never states if the Indians ever found something to eat.
Then there is a forth story that records that a group Indians approached the fort and found the double gate
open and the majority of the men of the fort out in the fields working.  They capitalized on their finding,
killing the 5 and taking 5 others captive.
Which story is true?  We really do not know.  I guess it would depend upon which history book you would
read and where your sympathies lie.  Would the author be attempting to slant the story to benefit the
Anglos inside the fort or slant to benefit the Indians who won the fight?  
We do know that one of the captives was a nine-year old girl named Cynthia Ann Parker and that she lived
with the Comanches for nearly 25 years.  We know she married Comanche chief Peta Nocona and was
the mother of three children, including Quana Parker, the last great Comanche war chief.
It’s not unusual for us to be confronted with the need to determine just how close a story is to the truth.  
Take for instance the relative position of two other historical places, heaven and hell.  How close is
heaven to hell?  We know from the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) that heaven is
separated from hell by a great gulf that cannot be crossed.  However, we are also told that they are close
enough that the rich man was able to look across and see Lazarus at peace in “Abraham’s bosom.”  
Additionally, we are told that they are close enough that a conversation was possible between the rich
man and Father Abraham.   It becomes necessary for each of us to determine by what measure is the
distance to eternity determined?
It was Sunday morning at Fort Parker and about 35 of us gathered in the main building for church.  This is
a log building with double glass doors.  I cannot think of a better setting for cowboy church.
Church was well over half way through when other cowboys begin to wander up to the glass doors.  
Some looking for breakfast, some for a cup of coffee, one was simply late for church.  The first man to
approach the door started opening the door, hesitated, quietly closed the door and walked away.  The
second man to approach realized what was happening, opened the door and joined in the services.  The
third man stopped, looked around like he was trying to process what all those people were doing, shook
his head and walked away.  The forth man started to open to door, stopped, and became angry, really
angry.  His face was red, his lips were moving in utterances of profanity and he stormed away.  What was
it that each of these men saw through the glass door that drew such different responses?  We do not
know.  This one thing we do know, on that Sunday morning at Old Fort Parker, the distance to eternity was
measured at one forth of an inch; the thickness of the glass on a modern day glass door.

© Carl H. Lenz, 2007
HOW CLOSE, HOW FAR?